When we were young lovers and just married we planted a tiny maple tree in our back yard.  Over the years, it has grown strong and tall.  Our kids have done the same.

This is a short story about our family’s connection and love for our Family Maple Tree.  Hope you feel it and enjoy it.

Maybe you will plant a Family Tree for your family.  Enjoy!

Growing Up In
 The Shade of The Maple Tree

The term Tree of Life comes to mind as I relax under our beautiful, tall and wide-spread maple tree.

It began it’s awesome life as a “start”.   It’s roots and legacy go back to grandma Ida’s yard, who knows where it was before that.

We planted it when we started having our kids some 30 years ago. It’s seen them, and us, go through all stages of life, with the good times and difficult times.  That’s why I call our maple tree The Kids’ Tree or The Family Tree.

All the kids, including our son’s best friend Jason love our tree. Somehow it just makes them happy. Just being around it gives everyone pleasure, comfort, and peace of mind.
Really, it’s given much pleasure to all.  It’s protected us from harsh summer temps. We take hot summer naps in it’s shade and dream of what could be.  There have been large family Bar BQs and plenty of games and family discussions around it.  We feel safe, protected, magical and invincible as it stands over us, so tall.  It encourages us to go outside and sit quietly while we appreciate all we have and the blessings of mother nature.

The Family Maple Tree sheds its leaves in winter, and lets in the crisp blue sky between snow storms. We watch inside from the dinning room as the cold of winter comes and lays down a white blanket of snow all around it.  The mood gets quiet and we listen to the sounds of winter. Every morning we rush to peer out the window to check if there are and animal or bird tracks in the new snow.

The tree has watched us grow into our married, adult roles and watched our babies grow up and have their babies.

It’s girth is bigger now, with yellowish green moss and other signs of aging, just like my wife and I.   I guess that makes it a Grand Tree, just like we are now Grand Parents.

As the bible says, there is a season for everything. Now is the “planting season” for the next generation of kids and Maple Trees. So, I think it’s time for our grand kids to have their own Maple Tree so they too can play in it’s shade and to grow up under it while making memories and Kodak moments of their own.

Today, I think back to seeing that scrawny start of a tree sticking out of the ground, tied to a post for support, not realizing the pleasure it would bring our family through out our lifetime.

Thanks Family Maple Tree and our to kids and their friends for enjoying each other and making a happy family and happy life.
Love, Dad

© John McFadden 2015